For conservatives, California is often thought of as a cautionary tale, what can happen if you have too much diversity, too many hot tubs, and too many voters leaning in on the liberal end of the political spectrum. But if you play the tale all the way out—from its midcentury success to the decline suffered at the end of the last century to the resurgence stirring now—it may be not as much a warning as a sign of hope that the current national craziness will end—although not without inflicting substantial pain along the way. After all, the national spasms resulting from demographic change,risinginequality,andpoliticalpolarizationmaybecausingheadachesandmoodswingsnow,buttheviewfromtheother sideofthecycleisnotallthatbad:California’seconomyisonthe mend(althoughmoreforsomethanforothers),discourseissurprisinglycivil,andtherearestilltoomanyhottubs.Recognizing thatimmigrantssettlein,thateconomicshockssortout,thatenvironmentalactiondoesnotsinkjobs,andthatraisingtaxeson thewealthydoesnotstuntgrowthiskeytoassuagingnational anxietiesaboutthechallengesahead.

Why is it important to think about the age chasm? Research suggeststhattheracialgenerationgapcanleadtosocialdistance betweengenerations—withtheoldnotseeingthemselvesinthe young—thatthenlowersvoterwillingnesstoconsiderpublicinvestments,includinginpubliceducation.Thatcertainlyseemsto fittheCaliforniapattern—boththelongperiodofdisinvestment sparkedbyProp13andnowthesuddenturntothinkingwemay justbeinitalltogether.Butsimplyhopingthatdisgruntledwhite voterswilljustnaturallyageoutorwiseupisnotexactlyafix.Instead,wemustbehonestaboutandaddressthegenerationaldisconnectinordertocreatebridgestoanewsocialcontract.And weneedtodothatquickly:California’sdecadesofconflictneed notbehalfacenturyofslow-pacedagonyfortherestofthecountry.Adashofruleschange,abitofattitudechange,andaclear commitmenttocommongroundcanhelpothersavoidwastedenergyspentonultimatelyfutilepoliticalconflicts.

Whatwerethesebroaderforces?Demographyplayedarole—a highershareofpeopleofcolorhelpedtotiltthestateleft—but demographywasnotnecessarilydestiny.AsRogerKim,former executivedirectoroftheAsianPacificEnvironmentalNetwork, notes,“Yes,demographicchangecanworkinourfavorbutyou have to do the hard work of investing in the infrastructure to makeitso...Californiadoesn’tlooklikethisbychance;there wasanincredibleamountofworkthatwentin.”Actuallymobilizingthatpopulationrequiredcampaignstonaturalizeimmigrants threatened by California’s anti-immigrant mood swing as wellasbroadereffortstodevelopnewleadershipandgenerateenthusiasmamonginfrequentvoterswhomightbeupsetaboutthe racializedattacksonaffirmativeaction,thedramaticincreasein incarceration,andthewideningdividesbyincome.

California is also beginning to reinvest in 21st-century infrastructure, including efforts to connect the state via high-speedrail,toshepherdinaneraofmasstransitinurbanLosAngeles,andtoreworkthestate’sbusyportstoreducetheirimpacton climateandairpollution.California’slargercities,oncethearenas ofeconomicdistressandcivilunrest,arestagingacomebackasa new“creativeclass”seekstoagglomeratenearurbanamenities;in asortof“becarefulwhatyouwishfor”moment,cityplannersand advocatesforlow-incomeresidentswhoonceworriedaboutdisinvestmentandneighborhooddeclinenowfindthemselvesstrugglingagainstthedisplacementcausedbygentrification.

“Policy change does not always start in the halls of state or local legislatures but rather in the streets, workplaces, and voting booths, where power is contested.”

All these demographic, economic, and political trendshelp explain the turnaround, but another key part of the Californiacomeback—oneleftasidebymostwritersandanalysts—has beentheroleofsocialmovementsinshiftingtheunderlyingpoliticalcalculus.Asnotedearlier,organizersdidnotassumethat demography itself would bring change; movement builders were intentionalaboutamplifyingthevoiceofthenewmajority.The statehasbecomeahotbedofmovementsfordecentwages,immigrantrights,racialequity,andenvironmentaljustice.Sorather thanwhatwesawinDCthroughtheadministrationofBarack Obama—inwhichamoderatelyprogressivepresidentfoundhimselfunabletoaccomplishhisagendaasthegrassrootsexcitement ofhispresidentialcampaignfizzledandthered-hotheatofTea Partyactivismshiftedthedynamic—changeinCaliforniawas propelledbyabuzzingbandoforganizerswhopushedforamore inclusiveandmoresustainablestate.

So California is in a state of resistance—but the task ahead will benotjusttodefendbutalsotodevelopanddeploy.Thestatecan illustratewhatthenationcouldgainifitdropstheanti-immigrant sentiment,confrontstherealityofclimatechange,andworkstogethertoaddressincomeinequality;becauseofthis,theGolden Stateneedstogetitright.Californiawillalsoneedtospreadthe messageinwaysbothsymbolicandconcrete,includingworkingto exportgoodpolicytodayasmuchasitexportedbadpolicyinthe past,andsharingsomeoftheevolvingmodelsofintegratedvoter engagementthathavebetteralignedmovementsandpoliticians.

Dr. Manuel Pastor is a professor of sociology and American studies and ethnicity at the University of Southern California, where he also serves as director of the Program for Environmental and Regional Equity and as co-director of USC’s Center for the Study of Immigrant Integration. Dr. Pastor has received Guggenheim and Fulbright fellowships as well as the 2012 Wally Marks Changemaker of the Year award from the Liberty Hill Foundation in Los Angeles and is author of State of Resistance: What California’s Dizzying Descent and Remarkable Resurgence Mean for America’s Future (The New Press). He currently holds the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change at USC and lives in Los Angeles.